Never leave Misty!
by Omnicat
Summary: He left Misty! HE LEFT MISTY! How Ash could have ever been so stupid, even he himself did not know. But Ash Ketchum has finally learned. Yes, LEARNED. All by himself, with little to no help from a frying pan to the head. He’s going back to her!


**Title:** Never leave Misty!

**Author:** Omnicat v''v

**Rating:** K+ / PG

**Genre:** Romance, Humor

**Spoilers & Desirable Foreknowledge:** My episode-to-episode knowledge of _Pokémon_ canon isn't what it used to be, so... read at your own discretion? ^^;

**Warnings:** Some slight profanity and one irate granny with a frying pan.

**Pairings:** Ash x Misty

**Disclaimer:** I buy _Pokémon_ merchandise. That is my property. Not _Pokémon_ itself. That is the creators' property. They make obscene amounts of money off of it it. I _spend_ money _on_ it. Stop reminding me, this is depressing.

**Summary:** He left Misty! HE LEFT MISTY!! How Ash could have ever been so stupid, even he himself did not know. But Ash Ketchum has finally learned. Yes, LEARNED. All by himself, with little to no help from a frying pan to the head. He's going back to her!

**Author's Note:** Not my usual fandom, but hey, why not? Read and enjoy!

**II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II**

**Never leave Misty!**

He had left Misty.

HE HAD LEFT MISTY!

_He had left Misty!!!_

Well, obviously this was the biggest mistake of his life.

One that he was fast on his way to correct.

Very fast.

Soon after he had committed said atrocity, he found out his wrong. May and her little brother where nice and all, but they just weren't Misty. He simply didn't feel at home on the road without the red-haired vixen by his side. He missed her with a passion.

But he had a title to earn.

He couldn't just turn back and abandon his quest. His programming wouldn't let him.

Damn.

Boy was Ash glad for the irate granny that beat him about the head in that diner one night when he had had his very first surplus of alcohol. He had been sluggishly complaining that Misty should have been there with him and Brock (who was drowning his sorrow over his latest rejection and had decided that Ash was old enough to participate and drag him to the Pokémon Centre afterwards), to scold him for getting as drunk as he was getting. The shrivelled granny had asked who Misty was, and why he would want to get scolded by her in the first place, and had turned out to have very little patience with thick-headed morons.

Hence the frying pan.

Heavenly realisation had hit Ash Ketchum even harder than the hangover the following morning.

He had gone to the bike shop in Goldenrod City as soon as he had finished all those ridiculous Pokémon contests and tournaments and what have you that where always thrown at him, and bought a brand new bike, because he knew that Misty would never have him back if he didn't replace the one he had wrecked upon their first meeting. She had reminded him of that fact about three times a day when they where still on the road together.

So, when he had the bike (a brand new, shiny, pink one with all the gears and accessories a girl could wish for), he hopped onto the train to Saffron, knocking the conductor over with the flowers he had brought to go with the bike.

Those had been Brock's idea. Ash had left Brock in the harem of a certain gym leader (who wishes not be mentioned by name), where his older friend was drooling so fast that the girls had a hard time feeding him enough cocktails to keep him from getting dehydrated. Ash had also left his pokémon there for the time being; he couldn't be drafted into matches if he had no pokémon on him, after all! Brock might be useless as a pokésitter in his current state, but the place was the property of a gym leader for crying out loud, all those girls where trainers, they could take care of Ash's pokémon just as well in between cocktail shifts.

Pikachu had refused to be left behind, of course, so the little rodent presently clung to his trainer for dear life.

In Saffron, Ash had wasted no time on hauling a cab, like any sensible person would do, and had hopped on the new bike, carefully avoiding crushing the bows and streamers, and was now approaching Cerulean at break-neck speed.

Had I mentioned that he was going fast?

He was leaving bigger and higher dust trails than a herd of rampaging rhynocs.

So fast, that despite his continuous chanting of "Don't let me bump into something I can't see from sheer velocity, don't let me fall into something I can't see from sheer velocity, don't let me slip in the bends from sheer velocity, don't let me trip over something and end up on my face PLEASE!", meant to keep the new bike in one, unwrinkled piece, he... still fell on his face.

Right in front of the Cerulean Gym, he hit a pebble and was sent tumbling a fair distance.

He lay twitching for a while, until Pikachu, who had luckily ended up in a nearby tree, shocked his face loose from the asphalt. "Thank you, Pikachu." he muttered incoherently while tottering over to the gym.

Inside, he found Misty's older sisters in the pool with some goldeen and horsey. They were all over him once they noticed he was there.

"Ash, you've come back!" and "You look horrible, what happened to you?" and "Ash! What a surprise, we weren't expecting you!" washed over him, drowning out his questions of "Where is Misty? Where is she? Where can I find Misty?"

Finally he roared: "Where is Misty?!?"

The trio shut up.

"In the middle of a match, when we last checked." the blond sister answered.

The other two exchanged glances, looked at the pile of metal, bows and petal-less flowers he was dragging behind him, and giggled into their hands.

"She should be done by now." the blue-haired one added, when Ash's face fell a little. That announcement nullified it. Before the girls knew it, Ash had zoomed off.

"It was nice to see you! Don't bother, I know the way!" drifted back to them. They stood there for a minute, stunned, then, in true sisterly manner, matching expressions came over them.

"Let's not leave them alone. Wouldn't want it to end in disaster." the salmon-haired sister said. The other two nodded their eager consent and three bathing suit-clad girls crept up to eavesdrop.

Ash, in the meanwhile, had dashed into the arena, finding Misty shaking hands with a trainer proudly clutching a Cascade Badge. The woman left, giving Ash a weird look as she passed. He couldn't have cared less. He only had eyes for the fiery angel by the pool.

She didn't notice him, instead went about to check on any damage done to the battle'field' during the match. He eagerly drank in her every gracious move, the curve of her legs and shoulders, the way her red hair fell into her face and stuck up from the customary pigtail.

Taking a few hesitant steps towards her, he called out softly. "Misty?"

She looked up to where he stood and here eyes widened. "Ash?"

"Misty." he repeated, smiling broadly now. He jumped down the stands and sped towards her, while she skipped from platform to platform until they stood face to face at the edge of the pool.

"Ash, what happened to you, you look like -"

"I was in a hurry and fell."

"In a hurry?" she tilted her head to the side. "What for?"

"To find you." he said plainly.

Her beautiful blue eyes widened once more. The small 'Huh?' sound that made her sound like the sweet girl she was sometimes escaped her mouth.

Ash took her hands in his, dropping the ruined presents to the floor. He gave her the most sincere look he had ever given in his life. "I came to find you. I - I missed you, Misty. I realised what a fool I've been to let you go. Would you please take me back?"

Misty looked like she had just been struck over the head by a Jigglypuff. "Wha - what?" she managed. "T - take you back?"

"Please?" he pleaded, getting down to his knees and giving his best togepi-eyed look "I promise never to leave your side again. Well, except when you want me to, of course. I'll do anything you want me to. Just take me back. Please?"

Her eyes softened to sparkles as he said this. But Ash knew her well enough to discern the other glint surfacing in that enticing blue. "Anything?" she asked.

Ash gulped, but wouldn't back away now. This might be his only chance! "Anything."

"Then you still owe me a new bicycle, Ash Ketchum."

Now he paled. He looked back at the twisted heap of metal and bows that _had_ been the new bike. She caught sight of it too. "What's that supposed to be?"

Ash chuckled nervously. "Er... Your new bike?"

Misty gave the pile a blank look before looking back to Ash cowering at her feet. "Really?"

"Hehe..." he said with a sheepish grin and his hand behind his head. "I guess I was in a bit too much of a hurry..."

She looked over the late bike once more, with a bit of a frown. Biting her lip in thought. _Was that a good sign?_ he wondered. When he was suddenly at the receiving end of her expert glare and being dragged to his feet, he guessed not.

Until she enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug. "Ash, you fool, you messed yourself up like this just to get here? Idiot!" She held him at an arms length and took in his state of scruffiness. "Never do that again, you hear me." she scolded.

Still grinning sheepishly, he vowed on his trophies to try to refrain from it in the future. "Er... and the bike?" he asked tentatively.

Misty made an off-handed gesture. "Oh, I already got myself a new one. It's in the shed. You didn't honestly think I was going to wait for you to show up again once I was back home and in need of a bike to get around town, now did you?"

Ash gawked at her and sputtered: "All the trouble I went through to pick out a nice bike - would have been for nothing?"

Misty grinned and cocked her head to the side. "Don't worry, Ash. I still expect you to pay me back what the new bicycle cost me."

She laughed when he made noises of protest and effectively silenced him with a soul searing kiss.

Three sisters snuck out of earshot and burst out cheering.

**II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II**

**PSAN:** Hope you liked it! ^_^


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